Cigarette package holder



.M 5 E. w. SCHWEIKERT 2,551,974

CIGARETTE PACKAGE HOLDER I Filed Jan. 27, 1949 .5 FIE-E.

JNVENTOR. .EZ Mfi'C/M E/A f r Patented May 8, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE CIGARETTE PACKAGE HOLDER Edward W. Schweikert, New York, N.Y.Application January 27, 1949, Serial No. 73,200 Claims. (01. 206-41)This invention relates to holders or binders for cigarette packages, andis particularly provided for packages carried individually in the pocketor purse after one or more cigaretteshave been removed from the package.

With the use of soft paper packages for cigarettes, as is the custom,the space left in the package after some of the cigarettes have beenremoved, leaves the package unsightly and the opening is free so thatone or more of the remaining cigarettes may easily fall out.Furthermore, the wide opening giving access of air to the remainingcigarettes permits rapid drying out of the latter. The present inventionaims to overcome these inconveniences and in addition to provide acigarette package holder embodying certain new and useful featureswhereby the operation of releasing the grip of the holder on the packagefor removal of a cigarette or for replacing an empty package with a fullone, is substantially simplified.

The above as well as additional and more specific objects will beclarified in the following description, wherein characters of referencerefer to like-numbered parts in the accompanying drawing. It is to benoted that the drawing is intended solely for the purpose ofillustration, and that it is neither desired nor intended to limit theinvention necessarily to any or all of the exact details of constructionshown except'insofar as they may be deemed essential to the invention.

Referring briefly to the drawing, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of thecigarette package holder applied to a fresh package of cigarettes.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same.

Fig. 4 is an end elevational View of the holder per se as it appearswhen it is free without a cigarette package therein.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the holder per se.

Fig. 6 is a top end or plan view of the holder as it appears when itcontains a partly emptied cigarette package, the latter being shown intransverse section.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral 19 indicates aconventional soft cigarette package containing the cigarettes in theusual manner, as illustrated.

The cigarette package holder It! comprises the fiat wall or base ithaving two opposed parallel walls 12 and 82a extending from the saidbase at right angles thereto. An end wall I! is provided at one end ofthe base H, the extremities of which are spaced from the side walls 12and l 2a thereby giving a certain amount of resiliency to the Walls 12and l2a.

Spaced arms IQ of springy metal such as, for example, spring steel, inthe form of bands or strips, extend from and at right angles to the sidewall 12, and they may be secured to the latter inany desired manner, as,for example, by

' means of rivets or the like. The free extremities of the arms [3 arejoined by a relatively rigid bar M, and a tab, which may be of leatheror any suitable pliable material, shown at it, extends from the bar I4.7

Normally, when not holding a cigarette package, the resiliency of thearms I3 is such as to urge them to coil into a loop or spiral, as shownat 15 in Fig. 4. In order to insert a fresh package, the arms areuncoiled and the package is inserted into the position shown in Figs. 1,2 and 3, that is, with one side of the package registering against thebase H between the side Walls I2 and Ma and the end wall I! and the arms13 grasping the package so that the bar [4 clamps the package byengaging the opposite side wall.

After the package has been opened, as shown in Fig. 1, by tearing on? acorner of the top, and when a cigarette has been extracted, the bar l4will be urged by the said resiliency of the arms 13, inward. Thecondition of both the holder and the package after a number ofcigarettes have been removed is shown in Fig. 6, with the arms I3 partlycoiled and the loose, empty paper of one side of the package compressed.As each successive cigarette is removed, the arms i3 coil further, andthe opening into the package is practically sealed at all times.

To facilitate loosening of the package to extract a cigarette, the tabor grip I5 is provided, for by pulling thereon the arms 13 are partlyuncoiled to relieve the pressure of the bar l4 upon the package, whencea cigarette may be readily extracted. The end wall I! serves as a limitstop in positioning the full package against the base H.

Obviously, modifications in form or structure may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In combination with a package having substantially the form of aparallelopiped, a device comprising a member including a base andopposed side walls, said package being positioned between said opposedside walls with one side surface thereof contacting said base, normallycoiled spaced parallel spring bands of equal length each having one endsecured to one of said side walls of said member and lying in a commonplane, the direction of coil of said bands bein out of the plane of saidone of said side walls toward the plane of the other of said side wallsthereby normally positioning said bands in the quadrant defined by theplane of said base and the plane of said one of said side walls, asubstantially rigid bar secured to the other ends of said bands andhaving the longitudinal axis of the bar parallel with the longitudinalaxis of the base, the sum of the length of one of said bands and thedepth of said one of said side walls of said member being greater thanthe Width of the package but less than the sum of the width of thepackage and the width of said one side surface of the package, said barwhen said bands are partly uncoiled contacting the opposite side surfaceof the package.

2. The device set forth in claim 1, said member having an end wall atone end thereof extending in the same direction as said side walls ofthe member and substantially at right angles to said base.

3. The device set forth in claim 1, said bar having a grip tab thereonintermediate the length of the bar.

4. The device set forth in claim 1, said member having an end wall atone end thereof extending in the same direction as said side walls ofthe member and substantially at right angles to said base, said end wallbeing of lesser width than the distance between said side walls of themember thereby providing spaces between the extremities of said end walland said side walls of the member.

5. In combination with a collapsible article having substantially theform of a parallelopiped, such as a cigarette package, said packagethereby having three pairs of mutually parallel surfaces, a devicecomprising a base positioned against one of said surfaces, said basehaving at least one side wall extending substantially at right angles tothe base and hence being positioned parallel with one of said pairs ofopposed surfaces adjacent said one of said surfaces, said side wallhaving a normally coiled spring band secured thereto at one end of theband, the direction of coiling of said band being out of the plane ofsaid side wall into the quadrant defined by the planes of said side walland said base thereby normally positioning said band in said quadrant,the sum of the rectified length of said band and the height of said sidewall being less than one-half the periphery of said package measured ina plane through the package at right angles to said side wall and beinggreater than the length of each of said pair of opposed surfacesadjacent said one of said surfaces measured in said last-named planethereby positioning the other end of said band against that surface ofthe package opposite said one of said surfaces, said other end of saidband having a bar thereon, said bar having a length substantiallygreater than the Width of the band and having the longitudinal axisthereof parallel with the longitudinal axis of said base.

EDWARD W. SCHWEIKERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 815,391 Weinstock Mar. 20, 19062,010,783 Florman Aug. 6, 1935 2,431,752 Hilstrom Dec. 2, 1947 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 54,302 Norway Aug. 20, 1934

